Ornamental button



July 21, 1964 J. T. BLAKE ORNAMENTAL BUTTON Filed Aug. 17, 1962 n.mW

TTORNEY United States Patent O 3,141,211 ORNAMENTAL BUTTON John 'I'. Bieke, Woicott, Conn., assigner to Scoviii Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Iiiied Aug. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 217,617 1 Ciaixn. (Cl. 24--91) This invention relates to ornamental buttons and particularly to buttons that are adapted to be permanently secured to a garment or the like by means of a tack,

Ornamental buttons with personalized monograms, initials and various surface designs have of late become increasingly popular on various types of clothing, such as shirts, jackets, boots, etc. These buttons are provided with a removable decorative insert so the user may select a suitable initial or design and snap it into 'the button body in oriented position relative to the garment. Several sets of inserts may be provided so the user may change designs at any time by removing one set and substituting ano'ther. This, of course, requires an insert that is not only easily removable, but one that will be rmly secured to the button body so that once the insert has been oriented with the garment, there will be no relative rotation of the insert to the button.

It is, therefore, the general object of my invention to provide a button body and insert that will not only meet all of the above requirements, but will be capable of manufacture in an eiiicient and economical manner. Since the button is limited in over-all height, my invention provides means for frictionally holding the insert by an inwardly extending open-ended resilient stud which is arranged and constructed to allow the end of the buttonattaching tack to project into the stud through its open end.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purpose of illustration, one embodiment which the invention may assume in practice. In the drawing:

FIG. l is a central section through my improved button assembly;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the outer face of the button;

FIG. 3 shows the separate parts of the button assembiy in central cross-section; and,

FIG. 4 indicates one type of garment where the invention may be utilized.

The body of the button is formed preferably by molding of one piece of relatively rigid plastic material. This body consists of a head 5 which is usually of circular cross-section, an inwardly projecting hub 6 and an outwardly directed flange 7 around the outer edge of the head. There is also provided an outwardly opening counterbore or recess 8 which preferably extends through the head and partly into the hub 6 and which is of a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the hub 6, but substantially larger than the shank of any tack which may be employed to attach the button.

One suitable form of tack is illustrated as having a head 9 and a shank 10, which has a series of grooves providing sharp biting edges 11. Preferably, the hub 6 has a central hole 12 of smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the sharp edges 11 so that, when the tack is pushed through the fiexible supporting material 13 of a garment or the like, it will bite firmly into the plastic material around the hole 12 for permanently securing the button to said supporting material.

The ornamental insert overlies the outer surface 1d of the head and, of course, covers the major portion of the head. In the example shown, the ornamental insert consists of an arched metal plate 15 having its outer edge 16 turned under and crimped against the outer edge of the circular base 17 of the stud element. This orna- 3,141,211 Patented July 21, 1964 ice mental piece tits loosely against the inside surface of the flange 7, which flange preferably extends close to the outer surface of the ornament.

The stud element consists of a series of resilient ngers 18 extending from the circular base 17 and angled radially outwardly. The resilient fingers may have inwardly rounded ends 19 to assist in guiding the stud into the recess 8. This provides a hollow resilient stud which is open at the inner end and which can be readily pushed into place, with the outer surface of the stud or fingers 18 bearing frictionally against the inner surface of the recess 8 and provides su'icient resiliency to prevent accidental turning of the ornament, As a further precaution to prevent turning of the ornamental insert, the flange 7 extends substantially the full height of the outer edge of said insert to prevent its being grasped or contacted by extraneous objects around its edge.

In order to remove one ornament and substitute another, a hole 20 may be provided through the head near the flange 7 so that a pin or wire can be inserted from the inner surface of the head 5 to engage the ornamental insert and force it out of the button.

In FIG. 2, I have indicated an example of an ornamental design in the form of the letter N and in FIG. 4, I have illustrated a typical garment on which the invention may be utilized. This is a boot 21 with straps 22, the free ends of which can be looped over the buttons as 23.

As a result of my invention, and particularly the provision of the recess 8 in the button body, I have provided an economical construction wherein the ornamental insert may be securely and removably attached by an inwardly extending spring stud while at the same time not interfering with the use of even a comparatively long tack to attach the button to the garment, because the tack may project into the recess and into the hollow space between the stud fingers 18.

What I claim is:

A button assembly comprising a one-piece body having a button head and an inwardly projecting hub of substantially smaller cross-sectional area than said head, button-attaching means having a shank projecting through a central hole in said hub to secure the button to a iiexible support, said body having a central cylindrical recess extending from the front surface of the button into a portion of the hub, said recess being of substantially larger diameter than the shank of said attaching means, an outwardly directed flange around the outer edge of said head, and an ornamental insert bearing against and covering the major portion of the outer surface of said head and fitting loosely against the inside surface of said flange, said insert having a centrally arranged inwardly projecting resilient stud secured thereto, which stud is dimensioned to extend into said recess to near the bottom thereof and to bear against the cylindrical surface of said recess with suliicient force to prevent accidental turning of said ornamental insert, said stud having an opening in its inner end to receive the end of said shank of the button-attaching means.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,690,129 Prentiss Nov. 6, 1928 2,385,467 Purinton Sept. 25, 1945 2,860,395 Anderson Nov. 18, 1958 3,028,646 Janes Apr. 10, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 762,658 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1956 

